56. From where they stand, they can see clear into the crime scene. Mai hasn't said a word since they arrived, and he doesn't want to distract her. Part of him does wonder what it is she's looking for and what kind of approach she's taking. Is it supernatural? Or just mundane detective work. She's mentioned problem solving and detective work has always been a minor passion of hers, being an investigator after all, so it's anyone's guess what she's really doing.

Shizuo glances around the alley. A lot of shit seems to go down in places like this. Isn't this where that Saika guy came after him, Celty, the glasses girl, and Kadota's crew that one time? Whatever, it doesn't matter. It makes him sick that some bastard jumped the twins and stabbed one of them. Hopefully, with Mai's help, they'll be able to track him down so he can kill him. He grits his teeth. "Well?" He risks asking.

His girlfriend tilts her head for a moment, then looks up at him. "Opanost'" She says, as if that's supposed to mean something to him. "Opanost'"

"You all right?"

"The word keeps coming to me for some reason." She flicks a finger at the yellow tape cordoning off the area. "Opanost'. You have any idea what that means?"

Shizuo shrugs. "Not really."

That makes her smile almost, but her brow suddenly furrows as she focuses on something in front of them. "What's that over there?"

"Huh?"

"There." She points and, following her finger, he can see something glinting in the sun. Mai shouts in surprise as he suddenly slips under the tape but doesn't protest as he darts across the pavement, passing the blood stain on the asphalt where the knife struck home and snatching up the shiny object. As he makes his way back to Mai, he at first thinks it just an old ten-yen coin or something, but when he reaches her, he sees it's much too old and definitely not Japanese currency. One side is stamped with strange letters, the other with a double-headed eagle.

"A polushka?" Mai says when he hands it to her.

"A what?"

"This is a polushka." Pinching it between her thumb and forefinger, she holds it up to the light. "But what's it doing here? And why does it look brand new? The last ones were minted in 1917."

Even stranger was how a funny, old coin hadn't been picked up by the police in their investigation. Had they missed it somehow? Perhaps a novice had simply mistaken it for a ten-yen piece as he had and let it be. Shizuo frowns at the crime scene again, then follows Mai as she turns to leave, clearly having seen all she came to see.

The plot thickens.

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes:

Ghost Hunt is owned by Fuyumi Ono and Shiho Inada.

Durarara! is owned by Ryohgo Narita, Suzuhito Yasuda, and Akiyo Satorigi.